Open Studio Tour Looking for Artists for 2010 Event

GIG HARBOR - Screening for the 2010 Greater Gig Harbor Open Studio Tour will take place Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Peninsula library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive NW in Gig Harbor.

Applicants should bring three to five pieces of their work, presented in the manner they would show in a gallery, plus a resume, an artist statement and a photo of their studio.

Drop-off time is 10 a.m. with pick-up at 12:30 p.m.

The Greater Gig Harbor Open Studio Tour (OST) is looking for local artists to participate in this year's tour.

Screening is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Peninsula Library.

"We're looking for working professional artists who live in the Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula/South Kitsap area," said Sharon Carr, member of the screening committee, and herself an OST participant.

"Last year we had 35 artists participating in the tour. We had painters, ceramic artists, metal sculptors, sumi-e artists, jewelry designers, glass artists, and even an artist who builds Celtic harps."

According to Giorgiana Candeleria-Wells, chair of the screening committee, applicants should bring three to five pieces of their work to the library at 10 a.m.

"The work should be presented in the manner in which the artists would show it in a gallery," Candeleria-Wells said.

"They should also provide a professional resume, an artist statement and a photograph of their studio."

Carr added that it's not a requirement that an artist appear in their own studio for the tour.

"In the past, we've had several artists showing their work in a single studio. It's up to the artists to work out those arrangements," Carr said.

This year's OST will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18 and 19.

"This will be the 17th year of the event," said OST chairman Mike Neil. "The tour offers the public an opportunity to meet and purchase art from some of the finest professional artists in our area. We have had visitors come from as far away as Portland and Vancouver, B.C. to go on the tour."

In addition to showing and selling their art, many OST artists also demonstrate their individual creative techniques.

"The studio demos have become an extremely popular part of OST," Neil said. "And, as artists, we feel that educating the public about how we make our art is very important, especially with all the cutbacks in school art programs in recent years."

The tour was the brainchild of Gig Harbor artist Al Johnsen. He founded a similar event in Santa Cruz, Calif., when he taught art at the University of California, Santa Cruz. That tour has grown to include more than 200 artists.

"The educational aspect of OST is a key component," Johnsen said. "It not only shows people how we create our work, it helps them get to know us as artists."

"And it's also fun for us artists to meet our visitors on a one-on-one basis," Carr added. "We hope we'll get a lot of new members this year."